"Now Showing in Fremont" will be the theme of the Office of Economic Development's third annual Retail Development Presentation on Thursday, January 20 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Brokers and developers will learn about the City's key retail opportunities, upcoming Redevelopment projects, and changes to the City's zoning to encourage mixed-use projects.

Don't be left out of the loop! To reserve your seat, please contact the City's Kim Marshall via email or at 510-284-4020 by Tuesday, January 18.

Meet the City's new Economic Development Manager, Lori Taylor. Lori has worked for a variety of local, state and federal agencies throughout her career and most recently served as the Economic Development Coordinator for the City of Union City.

Lori will be working on a number of economic development projects, including the City's hi-tech and biotech business recruitment and retention efforts, the FocusOnFremont website, and serving as an Economic Development Ombudsperson for the City. Lori can be reached via email or at 510-284-4024.

Twice a month, representatives from the City visit a local business in an effort to learn more about the needs of Fremont companies. In 2004, the City team, consisting of Fremont's Mayor or a Councilmember, an Economic Development Advisory Commissioner, and top City staff, met with top corporate management staff at the following businesses to talk about their interests, goals and concerns:

Abbyy USA, Acorn Product Development, Alara, Inc., Auction Drop, Barbedwire Technologies, California Digital, Everdream, Fiberstars, Hurricane Electric, Nanochip, Inc., NextWeb, Sootheze, Sygate Technologies, Synnex Information Technologies, Therma-Wave Inc., Titan General Holdings, Top Dawg, and Unitek.

Making the connection with local companies helps the City better understand business needs and industry trends, while providing businesses with a connection to the City should they ever have questions or need assistance. If you're interested in participating in the Corporate Site Visit program this year, contact Economic Development Assistant Kim Marshall via email or at 510-284-4020.

Fremont rings in the New Year with new fashion retail and restaurants at Pacific Commons (Automall Parkway and I-880), the Fremont Hub, Washington West Retail Center and elsewhere. New openings include our very first Peet's Coffee at Washington West (Paseo Padre Parkway and Mowry Avenue) and Nouvelle Bistro serving Asian fusion cuisine in Mission San Jose. "Pasta?" is a white tablecloth Italian restaurant coming soon to Fremont Plaza (Fremont Boulevard and Mowry Avenue). Watch for additional new fusion cuisines and restaurants coming to Fremont such as Rubios, Chipotle, Claim Jumper and Panera Bread over the next few months.

Fun and fashion has come to Pacific Commons in Fremont with DSW selling lots of great shoes and Kohls Department Store with a variety of home accessories and apparel for the entire family. Old Navy and Bassett Furniture will soon join this exciting retail line-up. The Office of Economic Development is committed to relentlessly working to bring new restaurants and retail to Fremont as we create more interesting places and spaces for specialty boutique and lifestyle retail. So ring in the New Year and enjoy your new shopping and dining choices in Fremont!

There are many ways to use store displays to increase your bottom line. Here's a checklist to help transform your store displays into higher sales:

- Change your displays monthly. Customers like to see merchandise rotate.
- Place the fanciest, newest, most expensive items in the most prominent place in your store. Be sure to have several levels of height and enough products so that customers can pick up and touch these desired items without having to totally dismantle your display.
- Avoid monochromatic displays. Instead, group items by product use or color, and incorporate one thing that makes up a group, such as housewares or tools.
- Avoid signs that say "Do Not Touch." Such signs send a "Do Not Buy" signal to customers.
- Use a fun prop that is totally unrelated to the items you're displaying. This "surprise" element brightens up the display.
- Make sure your displays have enough overhead lighting. Proper lighting enhances merchandise.
- Put price tags on everything. Customers do not want to have to ask how much something costs.

Have you checked out the City's property-finder database lately? Located at www.FocusOnFremont.com, this interactive website can also be used as a Business-to-Business tool to help build your business.

For example, with www.FocusOnFremont.com you can obtain a listing of all business names and addresses within a specific mile radius from your place of business. Then, you can launch a targeted advertising campaign to these companies. Add a personal touch by calling each business to discuss your products and services. Make the most of the City's property-finder database and increase your bottom line at the same time.

In July of 2004, the City's Office of Housing and Redevelopment launched the Facade Improvement Assistance Program to improve the appearance of commercial structures, ultimately creating a more positive retail environment in the Redevelopment Project Areas of Centerville, Irvington, and Niles.

To date, staff has worked with 39 business and property owners who have inquired about the program, 19 of which have begun architectural design services. It is anticipated that facade work will begin as early as this month for many of the applicants.

There's still time to apply! However, please don't wait too long as we are already half-way through the number of grants approved for this fiscal year. To learn more about the Facade Improvement Assistance Program or the Commercial Rehabilitation Loan Program, visit the City's website.

The Fremont City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency Board, approved the concept plan and business terms for a mixed-use project in Centerville at their September 28, 2004 meeting. The 6.8 acre site is located on Fremont Boulevard between Thornton Avenue and Bonde Way and includes 58,000 square feet of new retail and restaurants along with 110 townhome-style condominiums. A new pedestrian oriented curved street with a large central plaza will bisect the property connecting Fremont Boulevard to Post Street.

The project will be anchored by four or five quality restaurants. To date, the proposed restaurants include Milano Ristorante, Tamarine, and Hong Kong Flower Lounge. The remainder of the center is expected to house a variety of smaller retail and food-oriented shops.

For more information on this project, please contact the developer, Charter Properties' James Tong at 925-463-1666, or Redevelopment Project Manager Jennifer Andersen via email or at 510-494-4518.

The Office of Housing and Redevelopment is in the process of finalizing the planning and design of the Niles Town Plaza, located on the former Union Pacific property between H and I streets. The plans were reviewed at the City Council meeting on January 11. In addition, the Essanay Silent Film Museum, focusing on Niles' contribution to the then nascent California, has opened its doors and is showing films. The Museum is located at 37415 Niles Boulevard, between G and H streets. For more information, call 510-796-1940.

For more information about these projects, or others in the Niles area, please contact Redevelopment Project Manager Luke Connolly via email or at 510-494-4513.

Do your employees have long commute drives to work? Wouldn't it be nice if they lived in Fremont? The City of Fremont can help them become homeowners.

The City of Fremont is partnering with the California Housing and Finance Agency to assist first time homebuyers with deferred loans of up to $95,000; the loans do not have to be repaid until the home is sold.

Additionally, the City of Fremont's Inclusionary Housing Ordinance requires all new residential developers of seven units or more to set aside at least 15% of the homes to be sold at below market-rate.

To learn more about the City's First Time Homebuyer Program and/or to register for one of our mandatory workshops (this is necessary in order to be considered for this program), please visit the City's website or contact the Office of Housing and Redevelopment at 510-494-4500. Workshops are held weekly.

Let us help your employees welcome the reality of owning a home in Fremont!

The City will host its first-ever Biotech Breakfast tentatively scheduled on March 24. The event, which will bring Fremont biotech companies together to network and talk about expansion opportunities amongst themselves, is in response to the rapidly growing biotech sector in Fremont. Stay tuned for more details.

Need more IT (Information Technology) training for your employees? Consider using Fremont-based Unitek. Founded in 1992 as a high-technology network and systems integrator, Unitek is now a leading provider of IT training. Utilizing this expertise, Unitek has also expended into healthcare training and is now a top healthcare training school as well. Unitek has been ranked as one of the fastest growing private companies in the Bay Area by the East Bay Business Times and the San Francisco Business Journal. For more information, contact Unitek at 510-249-1060.